Benny Rousselle
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Benny Rousselle (born ca. 1951) is a Democratic politician from Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, in the Greater New Orleans area. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1996 to 1999 and on the Plaquemines Parish Council, as a councillor from 1991 to 1995. He was the council president from 1999 to 2006.
Plaquemines Parish is a parish (the equivalent of counties in other states) that is adjacent to the Algiers district (also known as Fifteenth Ward) of New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina struck Plaquemines Parish during Rousselle's second term as parish president. Katrina and related levee failures resulted in almost all homes and businesses of Plaquemines Parish being catastrophically flooded. Belle Chasse, the parish seat and also the location of the Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base, was spared from flood water destruction as it is flanked by the Mississippi River on the northern and eastern sides and the Industrial Canal on the west side and naturally sits on high ground. Most had to evacuate permanently from their houses, and as of early 2006 the majority of the returned population were in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers.
Rousselle has blamed the national administration for the way it handled the aftermath of Katrina.
Other local politicians criticized the way the federal government handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Parish Presidents Junior Rodriguez from St. Bernard and Aaron Broussard from Jefferson are among the most notable ones.
Rousselle was constitutionally ineligible for a third consecutive term and was succeeded by Republican William Harold Nungesser, son of the late party chairman William A. "Billy" Nungesser as parish president.
[edit] Election History
Member of Parish Council, District 2, 1990
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 6, 1990
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 709 (65%) | Elected |
| Richie DiFebbo | Republican | 158 (15%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 221 (20%) | Defeated |
State Representative, 105th Representative District, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 2,985 (31%) | Runoff |
| Jerry Hodnett | Democratic | 2,551 (26%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 4,118 (43%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 18, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 5,111 (53%) | Elected |
| Jerry Hodnett | Democratic | 4,565 (47%) | Defeated |
Plaquemines Parish President, 1998
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 3, 1998
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 4,965 (61%) | Elected |
| Clyde Giordano | Democratic | 3,140 (39%) | Defeated |
Plaquemines Parish President, 2002
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 5, 2002
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 3,354 (39%) | Runoff |
| Clyde Giordano | Democratic | 2,518 (29%) | Runoff |
| Janice Acosta | Democratic | 2,163 (25%) | Defeated |
| Tyronne Edwards | Independent | 610 (7%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 5, 2002
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Benny Rousselle | Democratic | 5,430 (56%) | Elected |
| Clyde Giordano | Democratic | 4,310 (44%) | Defeated |
[edit] Sources
ThinkExist.com : http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/benny_rousselle/
Louisiana Secretary of State : http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/
Plaquemines Parish: http://www.plaqueminesparish.com/
| Preceded by Frank Patti (D) |
State Representative, 105th Representative District 1996–1999 |
Succeeded by Ernest Wooton (D) |
| Preceded by Clyde Giordano (D) |
Plaquemines Parish President 1999–2007 |
Succeeded by William Nungesser (R) |
